Vehicle guiding mechanism.



P. W. BRANDT.

VBHIGLE GUIDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1912.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

FRIEDRICH WILHELM BRANDT, WEIMAB, TEXAS.

VEHICLE GUIDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented Feb. 17, 1914..

Application filed August 29, 1912. Serial No. 717,764.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRIEDRICH W. BRANDT, acitizen of the United States, residing at eimar, in the county ofColorado and State of Texas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Vehicle Guiding Mechanism; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to axles for vehicles, and more particularly tosteering axles.

The object of the invention is to provide an'improved and simplifiedconstruction by which the axles and wheel spindles of vehicles may bepivotally connected, and quickly and easily assembled and separated.

With this object in view, the invention consists in the improvedconstruction, arrangement and combination of the parts of a device ofthe character specified, which will be hereinafter fully described, andafterward specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical fragmentalsectional view through a wheel hub, a wheel spindle and an axle,connected in operative position. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, onthe plane indicated by the broken line 22 of Fig. 1, and, Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional view through the upper pivot and the keywedge.

Like reference characters mark the same parts wherever they occur in aplurality of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to these drawings, the axle 1 is provided at 2 with a bore forthe reception of a vertical pivot pin 3, the end of the axle extendinginto a recess 4, in the inner end of a wheel spindle 5, said spindlebeing also provided with bores 6 through the upper and lower walls ofthe recess 4 which register with the bore 2 and communicate with therecess 4, the pivot pin 3 extending through the bores 2 and 6 topivotally con nect the wheel spindle and axle.

The wheel spindle is provided with a curved upwardly and outwardlyextending arm 7 which is formed with a pivot 8 in vertical alinementwith the bores 2 and 6 and pivot 3. The axle has a curved upwardly andoutwardly extending arm 9 which is provided at 10 with a bore forreceiving the pivot 8, so that the pivots 3 and 8 are in verticalalinement. The bore 10 is elliptic in cross section to accommodate a key11, which is tapered or wedge shaped, being crescent shaped in crosssection, formed with a screw threaded stem 12, and having a nut 11fitted thereon. It is impossible for the wedge 11 to turn within theaperture 10, and so the nut 11 may be readily adjusted to tighten orloosen the wedge in the bore 10, and a snug pivotal connection may bemaintained without danger of the nut 12 working loose.

The wheel spindle is provided with a steering arm 13 which extendsapproximately horizontally from the base of the arm 7, and pivotallyconnects at 14 with a steering link 15 which may be connected with anyproper steering means (not shown). ably formed integrally with the wheelspindle.

While I have shown the arm 9 formed in-' tegrally with the axle 1, it isobvious that the arm and axle could be formed separately and securedtogether by any suitable means, if desired. The vertical distancethrough the recess 4 is greater than that of the axle 1, so that the endof the axle may be inserted in the recess 4 after the pivot 8 has beeninserted in the bore 10. The horizontal width of the recess 4 is greaterthan that of the axle 1, so that the wheel spindle and axle may haverelative horizontal movement around the pivot 3.

The inner end of the wheel spindle is flared outwardly in the shape of abell as at 16, the rim of the bell-shaped portion extending within thebinding ring 17 and contacting with the inner end of the hub, thusforming an overhung flange which shields the bell-shaped portion, andforms a closed annular channel to keep sand and grit from entering thehub and cutting out the skein and box.

In operation, by moving the link 14 toward the right, the arm 13 will bemoved to the right thereby, so that the front part of the wheel wouldmove likewise, and thereby cause the vehicle to be guided to the right;while, an opposite movement of the link 14 will obviously cause thevehicle to be guided to the left.

I do not limit my invention to the exact details of construction,combination and arrangement of parts as described and illus- The arms 7and 13 are prefer-.

trated herewith, but my invention may only be limited by a reasonableinterpretation of the claim.

lVhat I claim as new is A wheel spindle having a longitudinal socket inits inner end angular in cross section and provided with vertical. boresin its top and bottom walls, the inner ends of the spindle, forming thewalls of the socket, being flared outwardly and curved back, the upperportion of said outwardly flared walls being formed into an upwardly andoutwardly turned arm terminating in a vertical journal in alinement withthe bores, in combination with an axle having its end of lesscross-sectional size than the recess in the spindle and seated in saidrecess, said axle having a bore in vertical alinement with those in thespindle and with the journal on the curved arm, and an arm on the axleextending vertically, and thence horizontally in parallelism with theaxle, said arm having a bore in alinement with those of the spindle andaxle and adapted to receive the journal of the curved arm.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses" FRIEDRICH WILHELM BRANDT.

Witnesses JOHN BARTA, Jix, EMIL BARTA,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

